Arike Ogunbowale leads Team WNBA to All-Star Game win vs. Team USA
PHOENIX — The WNBA All-Stars were familiar with this script. After being underdogs in the 2021 midseason showcase when facing off against Team USA, the “other” All-Stars entered the 2024 event projected to lose by 6.5 points.
They never once even trailed by that many.
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Despite being behind for much of the first quarter, Team WNBA stayed close early and then took the lead for good behind an explosive performance from Arike Ogunbowale in the second half to win 117-109. The 2021 All-Star MVP went scoreless in the first half but made up for it after the break, putting on an All-Star Game show for the ages with 34 points in the final 20 minutes.
Ogunbowale, who was named the All-Star Game MVP, shot 6 of 10 in the third quarter to go along with four assists and two steals as Team WNBA turned a two-point halftime deficit into a nine-point lead. The pyrotechnics didn’t stop in the fourth for the Dallas Wings star. The four-time All-Star added three more triples in the final period, the last one giving her the record for most points in an All-Star game with 34. To put it plainly, she scored more points in one half than any previous All-Star had scored in the full 40 minutes.
Ogunbowale was one of five double-digit scorers for Team WNBA. Nneka Ogwumike did her work early, scoring eight of her 14 in the first quarter on trademark Ogwumike efficiency (7 of 9). Kelsey Mitchell added 13, knifing her way to the rim repeatedly and providing the non-Ogunbowale highlight of the evening with a third-quarter buzzer-beater that brought her teammates racing onto the court.
Friday night star Allisha Gray had 16, including ten trips to the foul line, to go along with her five steals as Team USA conceded 15 points off of turnovers.
Angel Reese added yet another double-double (though this one doesn’t count on the stats) to her rookie tally, posting 11 points and 10 rebounds in the victory.
Throughout the contest, U.S. Olympic team coach Cheryl Reeve cycled through various rotations. Only two players (Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson) played more than 25 minutes, with nine players playing between three and 21 minutes. The result will give Reeve and her staff plenty of film to work off of as they prepare for their upcoming exhibition against Germany on July 23.
One of the clear bright spots was the play of Wilson and Stewart. Both were efficient, with Stewart scoring 31 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the field. Wilson added 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting. If both play at the level they did on Saturday, then any other struggles across the roster will be masked.
How the American team improves defensively will, of course, be something to watch going forward. In the first half, they held Team WNBA to 17.6 percent shooting from 3 and looked solid on the perimeter. Ogunbowale, however, lit up Team USA from deep in the second half, hitting eight 3-pointers.
Overall, Team WNBA shot 68.4 percent in the third quarter and 45.5 percent in the fourth quarter. Team USA won’t face an opposing guard as skilled as Ogunbowale at the Olympics, but her performance put a lot on tape on areas the American group can improve.
